A Regiment Like No Other: The 6th Marine Regiment At Belleau Wood

By LCDR J. Wayne Hill

This thesis addresses the unique composition of the 6th U.S. Marine Regiment and the role they played in the battle of Belleau Wood. It analyzes composition of the 6th Marine Regiment: 60 percent were college men, many of whom were college athletes. With the exception of the Battalion's senior officers and a handful of senior non-commissioned officers, the Regiment was composed of volunteers. Although they were put through rigorous training, these young Marines were not fully prepared for the war that they would face. These young men overcame shortfalls, and became leaders who motivated others to follow. The argument is that these men were able to use their educational and athletic backgrounds to overcome adverse training and combat conditions and proceeded to shape both the outcome of the First World War as well as the Marine Corps for the remainder of the 20th Century.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Verdun Press
• Release date: Aug 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781782896975

LCDR J. Wayne Hill

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Text originally published in 2012 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

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A REGIMENT LIKE NO OTHER: THE 6TH MARINE REGIMENT AT BELLEAU WOOD

BY

LCDR J. WAYNE HILL.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ABSTRACT 5

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6

ACRONYMS 7

ILLUSTRATIONS 8

CHAPTER 1 — INTRODUCTION 9

CHAPTER 2 — BUILDING THE 6TH MARINE REGIMENT 17

CHAPTER 3 — TRAINING 30

CHAPTER 4 — INTO THE WOODS 49

CHAPTER 5 — CONCLUSION 69

GLOSSARY 77

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 78

BIBLIOGRAPHY 79

Books 79

Books-Government Sources 80

Internet 80

ABSTRACT

This thesis addresses the unique composition of the 6th U.S. Marine Regiment and the role they played in the battle of Belleau Wood. It analyzes composition of the 6th Marine Regiment: 60 percent were college men, many of whom were college athletes. With the exception of the Battalion's senior officers and a handful of senior non-commissioned officers, the Regiment was composed of volunteers. Although they were put through rigorous training, these young Marines were not fully prepared for the war that they would face. These young men overcame shortfalls, and became leaders who motivated others to follow. The argument is that these men were able to use their educational and athletic backgrounds to overcome adverse training and combat conditions and proceeded to shape both the outcome of the First World War as well as the Marine Corps for the remainder of the 20th Century.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to take this opportunity to thank and acknowledge the following people for their help in the writing of this thesis. First, I want to thank my wife, Linda, and our sons Alexander and Gavin. Thank you all so much for your support, understanding, and patience during this year. I love you all.

I want to thank my committee, Dr. John Curatola, Mr. Michael Burke, and Mr. Wilburn Bud Meador. Gentlemen, your guidance and words of wisdom have been fantastic, and one day I hope to pass along what I learned from you all and share with others. I want to thank my editor, Ms. Bonnie Joranko. You have helped me so much and always managed to make everything sound better, and your command of the English language is amazing. I would also like to thank my family, friends, and classmates.

This paper is dedicated to two Marines. The first is Captain Robert Secher, KIA 8 October 2006, Hit, Iraq. The best friend, brother, and Marine I have ever known. The second is Private First Class Herbert H. McClelland, KIA 8 December 1950, Chosin Reservoir, Korea. Thank you Uncle Herbert for all you gave up for our country.

ACRONYMS

AEF—American Expeditionary Force

CMC—Commandant of the Marine Corps

Col—Colonel

GySgt—Gunnery Sergeant

Lt Col—Lieutenant Colonel

Lt—Lieutenant

Maj—Major

NCO—Non-commissioned Officer

U.S.—United States

WWI—World War I

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1. Drawing of Second Division Symbol

Figure 2. World War I Marine Recruiting Post

Figure 3. Photograph of George A. MacGillivary and other members

of 80th Company, 6th Marine Regiment in France, ca 1918

Figure 4. Lt Clifton B. Cates

Figure 5. 2d Lt Caldwell Colt Robinson

Figure 6. Carl A. Brannen

Figure 7. 6th Regiment Jazz Football Program, 25 December 1917

Figure 8. 84th Company, 6th Marine Regiment, Post-World War I

Figure 9. Col Albertus Catlin (pictured as BG Catlin)

Figure 10. Lt Col Harry Lee

Figure 11. GySgt Dan Daly

Figure 12. GySgt Fred Stockham

Figure 13. Survivors of Belleau Wood including Maj Holcomb, 1st Lt Cates,

1st Lt Erskine of 6th Marine Regiment

Figure 14. Marines in a machine gun nest close to Champagne, France

Figure 15. Map of Belleau Wood, 6 June 1918

Figure 16. Lt Col Sibley, Commanding Officer, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment

Figure 17. Map of Belleau Wood, 10-11 June 1918

Figure 18. Painting of At Belleau Wood

Figure 19. Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, France

CHAPTER 1 — INTRODUCTION

Source: Wilbur Talbot, Diary of Wilbur S. Talbot, USMC (Marine Corps Archives, 1981, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, VA).

The United States Marine Corps has long looked to its past to set the tone for its future. The Marines have fought in almost every conflict in American history, from the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism. Names and dates of battles resonate with every U.S. Marine. Tripoli, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Chosin Reservoir, Hue, and Fallujah are just a few of the places that Marines have fought, bled, and died over the course of American history.

The Marine Corps' first great battle of the 20th Century took place in a small thatch of forest called Belleau Wood located outside of Paris, in June of 1918 during the First World War. The Germans were on the offensive, and if they could push through to Paris, chances were likely that France would have been forced to sue for peace and withdraw from the war. The Allies would have had no choice but also seek peace with Germany. However, if the German advance could be stopped, then the tide of the war would swing to the Allies and Germany could be defeated.

Recruitment for the Marines was at a high pitch when the war began for America in 1917. Some of the most unlikely members of American society, who would normally not be considered supporters of the Marine Corps, spoke up for them. Former Secretary of the Navy and President, Theodore Roosevelt, who at one time was not a fan of the Marine Corps, was quoted as saying, There is no finer body of men in the world than the U.S. Marine Corps. {1} In 1916, the Naval Appropriations Bill was enacted to enable the Corps to add six hundred officers and almost fifteen thousand men to its rosters.{2} As war drew closer for America, their numbers would increase again, and from this surge of volunteers would emerge the 6th Marine Regiment.

The 6th Marine Regiment not only fought in the First World War,